Thinking of cutting the cord? Here are some points to ponder

By Jim Rossman - The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

So you think you’re ready to cut the cord — what’s the best way to start?

I guess you could just call and cancel your TV service right away, but you might just want to hold off for a month or so to get things set up and working before you tell your current TV provider to hit the bricks.

You’ll want to figure out how you’ll be consuming video after you cut the cord.

Will you be streaming on a service like Netflix or Hulu?

How about watching local channels and network TV over the air with an antenna?

Don’t forget you can also go with one of those skinny streaming bundles of live pay TV channels from services like Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Playstation Vue, Youtube or Hulu.

Those services feature smaller bundles of channels and start around $35 per month.

Each of these live TV streaming services has a free trial period so you can see if you like the lineup and interface before you sign up. Once you make up your mind, remember they don’t have any contracts, so you can come and go as you like.

I’ve got a fourth-generation Apple TV at home, and it can stream all my video sources from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Sling TV. I also have local channels streaming from my antenna through my Plex server, which also has an app for Apple TV, so all the streaming content at my house funnels through the Apple TV.

It will behoove you to think about these things and make a few decisions before you pull the plug.

Try out a few streaming services. Poke around the streaming apps. Make sure your ducks are in a row and you know where you’ll be getting your video.

This doesn’t need to be difficult, but there are a lot of choices to make and perhaps some equipment to buy. You might make some wrong choices, but none of this is set in stone.

Everything evolves, including cord-cutting. Keep reading, here and in other places, to keep up with the latest advancements.

Equipment and services you are using to stream today might be obsolete in a year or two, only to be replaced by something better (we hope).

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Jim Rossman writes for The Dallas Morning News. He may be reached at jrossman@dallasnews.com.